Scan barcode
A review by dutch419
White Fang by Jack London
4.0
Third (Fourth?) read of this, and first in about 15 years.
WHITE FANG has a lot to say about the laws of nature, of people, and of self-preservation (HINT: It's bleak). Furthermore, I forgot how much this book touches the downfall of greed, development, and industrialization. What I fondly remembered was the uplifting of the Wild. White Fang's surviving strength is in his Wild protecting that deep, untouchable well for love that he had never filled before.
I DID NOT realize how much racism is ingrained in the way London writes indigenous peoples and their relations to white people. Be prepared for derogatory slurs/themes and indoctrination of "inherent superiority" complexes. I realize this is a book of its time, but I want to be cognizant of what is carried into the present and future. I was reading this as a child (my first read at 8, my second at 12) and had no clue what I was taking for face value.
My re-read of WHITE FANG is another reminder that it is always worth re-reading books the shaped me. I can now take what sticks, and leave what does not. The wolf will always live in that fierce little girl.
Here are some quotes that stuck with me:
“Had the cub thought in man-fashion, he might have epitomized life as a voracious appetite, and the world as a place wherein ranged a multitude of appetites, pursuing and being pursued, hunting and being hunted, eating and being eaten, all in blindness and confusion, with violence and disorder, a chaos of gluttony and slaughter, ruled over by chance, merciless, planless, endless.”
“It was a placing of his destiny in another’s hands, a shifting of the responsibilities of existence. This in itself was compensation, for it is always easier to lean upon another than to stand alone.”
“They were his environment, these men, and they were moulding the clay of him into a more ferocious thing than had been intended by Nature. Nevertheless, Nature had given him plasticity. Where many another animal would have died or had its spirit broken, he adjusted himself and lived, and at no expense of the spirit.”
“The Wild still lingered in him and the wolf in him merely slept.”
“But it did not all happen in a day, this giving over of himself, body and soul, to the man-animals. He could not immediately forego his wild heritage and his memories of the Wild. There were days when he crept to the edge of the forest and stood and listened to something calling him far and away.”
I keep wrestling the question: Does London see savagery as a moral necessity? As something to be admired, or feared, or replaced by love?
Would love to hear thoughts from anyone else who has read the book.
----------
First/Second Reads, Review from many years ago:
The way that Jack London writes about this wolf is spell-binding and simply magnificent. It tells of a story about a wolf-dog who is treated cruelly by people, but can still find some kindness in his heart.
I have never been scared of wolves, but fascinated, and I know that a lot of people are too, but some cling to the fairy tales and fables of bloodthirsty wolves hurting humans. I gave this book to my friend, who experienced something similar, and now she loves the wild creatures as much as I.
This book changes your view not only on wolves, but on life.
Some more modern books that you would enjoy reading that relate to this book are [b:The Sight|58085|The Sight (The Sight, #1)|David Clement-Davies|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388297746l/58085._SY75_.jpg|56563] by David Clement-Davies and the companion book, Fell.
-The Overachiever.xx
WHITE FANG has a lot to say about the laws of nature, of people, and of self-preservation (HINT: It's bleak). Furthermore, I forgot how much this book touches the downfall of greed, development, and industrialization. What I fondly remembered was the uplifting of the Wild. White Fang's surviving strength is in his Wild protecting that deep, untouchable well for love that he had never filled before.
I DID NOT realize how much racism is ingrained in the way London writes indigenous peoples and their relations to white people. Be prepared for derogatory slurs/themes and indoctrination of "inherent superiority" complexes. I realize this is a book of its time, but I want to be cognizant of what is carried into the present and future. I was reading this as a child (my first read at 8, my second at 12) and had no clue what I was taking for face value.
My re-read of WHITE FANG is another reminder that it is always worth re-reading books the shaped me. I can now take what sticks, and leave what does not. The wolf will always live in that fierce little girl.
Here are some quotes that stuck with me:
“Had the cub thought in man-fashion, he might have epitomized life as a voracious appetite, and the world as a place wherein ranged a multitude of appetites, pursuing and being pursued, hunting and being hunted, eating and being eaten, all in blindness and confusion, with violence and disorder, a chaos of gluttony and slaughter, ruled over by chance, merciless, planless, endless.”
“It was a placing of his destiny in another’s hands, a shifting of the responsibilities of existence. This in itself was compensation, for it is always easier to lean upon another than to stand alone.”
“They were his environment, these men, and they were moulding the clay of him into a more ferocious thing than had been intended by Nature. Nevertheless, Nature had given him plasticity. Where many another animal would have died or had its spirit broken, he adjusted himself and lived, and at no expense of the spirit.”
“The Wild still lingered in him and the wolf in him merely slept.”
“But it did not all happen in a day, this giving over of himself, body and soul, to the man-animals. He could not immediately forego his wild heritage and his memories of the Wild. There were days when he crept to the edge of the forest and stood and listened to something calling him far and away.”
I keep wrestling the question: Does London see savagery as a moral necessity? As something to be admired, or feared, or replaced by love?
Would love to hear thoughts from anyone else who has read the book.
----------
First/Second Reads, Review from many years ago:
The way that Jack London writes about this wolf is spell-binding and simply magnificent. It tells of a story about a wolf-dog who is treated cruelly by people, but can still find some kindness in his heart.
I have never been scared of wolves, but fascinated, and I know that a lot of people are too, but some cling to the fairy tales and fables of bloodthirsty wolves hurting humans. I gave this book to my friend, who experienced something similar, and now she loves the wild creatures as much as I.
This book changes your view not only on wolves, but on life.
Some more modern books that you would enjoy reading that relate to this book are [b:The Sight|58085|The Sight (The Sight, #1)|David Clement-Davies|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388297746l/58085._SY75_.jpg|56563] by David Clement-Davies and the companion book, Fell.
-The Overachiever.xx